


Lip Gloss

by LMB



Category: Drake & Josh
Genre: Lipstick & Lip Gloss, M/M, kissing idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-01-05 20:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18373928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMB/pseuds/LMB
Summary: What starts out as an innocent affair quickly becomes what neither party expected.





	Lip Gloss

**Author's Note:**

> I picture this to be around Season 3, but y'all see it how you like!

Josh can’t think of a better way to spend his Friday. Sure, he had to treat his rash with ointment when it acted up during lunch, and Megan filled his milk cup with vinegar when he wasn’t looking—after which, he “tossed his cookies” into the toilet—but he had history class today with Mr. Lange, which was all good and wonderful. As a result, he is sitting at the computer desk in his room, basking in the evening sunlight and learning about the Civil War. His textbook still has that lovely not-been-cracked-yet smell, and his favorite fountain pen has been refilled with fresh ink. He takes notes with it now on lined paper as he reads.

“I wonder what it was like to be on the battlefield,” he says, smiling. He imagines himself as one of those smartly-dressed generals with a lot of badges on his coat and a horse, maybe even a well-grown beard and mustache; one not even Mindy could say no to. Judging by all the yelling he'd need to do, not to mention the number of cannons and drummer boys on either side, it must’ve been quite a racket.

Speaking of racket, there are some familiar footsteps on the stairs now. Drake’s voice is louder than usual when he opens the door, and Josh knows he’s on the phone.

“What’s that, Trevor? ...No, I don’t want to smell your new belly button ring, I’m busy! Wait...like cheese? Really? ...Look, man, I’ll have to sniff it some other time, alright?”

By this time, he’s walked over to Josh’s desk, still holding the phone up to his ear. With one arm motion, he sweeps the history textbook and papers off. Josh turns in his chair, giving him his best stink eye.

“Do you mind?”

“Nope.” He pops the ‘p,’ leaning an elbow on the desk.

"I was doing my homework!"

"And now you're not. Poof, magic. Come help me." Drake directs his head toward the couch and beckons with one hand, keeping that infuriating talking device in his other. Josh rolls his eyes, picking up his things. Great. Another one of his stepbrother’s schemes. Peace and quiet only lasts so long in the Parker-Nichols household.

"I guess George Custer will have to battle in Little Bighorn some other time."

“Pfff, who names their kid ‘Custard’?” Drake snickers. Josh opens his mouth, thinks long and hard about correcting him, decides there is no use, and closes it. Once he has his history textbook and pencil aligned how he wants them and his notebook papers filed in painstaking alphabetical order—despite the peanut gallery’s endless snorting behind his back, he will not work on a desk of dirtiness, thank you!—he turns around to see his stepbrother lounging on the couch. At the sight of his grin, he immediately waves his hands.

“Whatever it is, _no._ We already got grounded five times this month, and I’m not risking it again if it means I miss tomorrow’s Blaine Darby show.”

“Would you relax? I’m not looking to get grounded. Besides, five times over a span of three weeks? That’s, like, a record.”

Josh briefly considers pointing out that the reason their groundings are so short is that he keeps bribing Mom and Dad with jewelry and Fancy Cat magazines with _his wallet money,_ but he doesn’t. Instead, he sighs and plants his butt on the couch.

“So, what _are_ you planning?”

“You know that girl Bethany, right?”

“The cheer captain?”

“Yeah,” The way Drake’s eyes glaze over and his voice becomes a content sigh while thinking about her makes Josh’s stomach twist for some reason. “I’ve got a date with her tonight at the Premiere. We’re gonna see some rom-com movie, not that we’re actually gonna _watch_ the movie—”

And that time, Josh is less uncomfortable with the words themselves and more fixated on the glint in his eye. It’s the same one he had when he leaned into Josh that one time and called him ‘purdy.’ It had been a joke, but still. It brings back pleasantly nervous, uh... _emotions_ every time he thinks about it. There were other times, too. Like when he spoon-fed him chowder, and he embraced him in the janitor’s closet before the Academic Bowl, and they performed their Blues Brothers routine for the talent show, and they stole Tony Hawk’s car together to escape those criminals in Hollywood. Even when they’re fighting, sometimes, it will be there, like he knows they’re just playing. Like it’s some strange, all-out way of flirting. If he means it that way back, that is. Josh can never tell.

“Bruh, you listening?” Josh doesn’t even realize Drake’s hands were on his face as he called his name for two whole minutes until he zones back in. His fingers are scarred from guitar-playing yet smooth all at once. Josh wonders for a moment if Drake can feel his cheeks warming up beneath them, but he just lowers his hands and keeps talking as if nothing happened. “Anyway, we’re gonna be kissing a whole lot, right? And she’s really into collecting lip stuff. So, I went to the mall and bought some more samples.”

Josh groans at the mental picture of the store clerk going, “Hello, Drake. Got another date, huh?” He expects _that,_ alright. But what he doesn’t expect is for his stepbrother to place a bunch of tiny black bags in his lap and say, “Hey, dude, can you try these on for me?”

“...Hah?”

“Earth to Planet Josh,” Drake makes a bunch of beeping noises, waving a hand in front of his face. He shakes his head and smiles. “And you say _I’m_ the dim one. Obviously, I wanna see which one will look and smell the best on Bethany ahead of time.”

“What a thoughtful young man you are,” Josh says, rolling his eyes, though he’s smiling also. If he doesn’t know any better, he can see Drake’s shoulders rising up and down with laughter. They stop when he reaches out and claps Josh on the arm.

“But seriously, let’s get started. Can’t be late for tonight.”

“O-Okay, then,” Josh says, opening one of the bags. Of all the things they do together as stepbrothers—honestly, does this even constitute as normal anymore?

He tries to shake off the thought for now and pulls out the first sample. “Kiwi mango lip gloss.” Then, he turns so he’s facing away from Drake and takes something out of his jeans pocket.

To tell the truth, Josh does not actually mind dressing up. It’s no secret to anyone he’d been a clumsy, overweight kid for most of his life. His mom was there to comfort him after a bad day at school with warm brownies and an Oprah episode on tape. After her death, it had just been him and his dad, and he still didn’t know how to be comfortable in his own skin. Summer art camp had helped with that. Chip and Ronnie were his mentors throughout. They helped him get in touch with his theatrical side. A lot of the time, he was interested in the “woman” parts because he could obscure himself more, but as he grew more confident, he found he appreciated them for the charming qualities they offered. Little things like curling his hair and plucking his eyebrows that he started incorporating more into his daily routine. What can he say? He likes how good they make him feel. Sure, the Miss Nancy outfit is a bit much, but just a little bit of makeup can do him wonders.

“Dude, is that mascara?” Drake's craning his head to look.

Josh shrugs. “I thought if I was gonna try on lip gloss, then the rest of me should look pretty.” It’s amazing how calm his voice comes out considering this could go either way. Drake might freak out like he did when he dressed up as Miss Nancy, laugh at him, or silently judge him for the rest of the evening.

“Okay,” he says after a bit. Josh turns back around, surprised eyes surrounded by newly-blackened lashes. “You should wear that more often.”

“Really?”

Drake nods. “It goes well with your, uh...elbows, yeah, that’s manly,” he says more as if he’s trying to convince himself. Josh shakes his head and smiles.

“Alright, I’m gonna apply the lip gloss now.”

“Yeah.” _Is he gulping?_ “You do that.” Josh finds his own heart picking up speed in response. Well, this just keeps getting weirder.

Uncapping the gloss, Josh holds it near his nose. Smells good to him. He wonders what Drake will think. He holds it to his mouth next. It’s cold and wet in comparison to the rest of the room but not unbearable. He’s just coated his upper lip with it when something makes him pause.

“Are-Are you watching me—?”

“You mind?” Drake stares at him with a neutral expression, kicking his legs back on the coffee table.

“No,” Josh’s throat goes dry, “not at all. Please continue.” His fingers are shaking now, but he wills himself to keep going even if Drake’s intense silence and unblinking eyes _are_ hard to ignore. He swears he even sees him lick his lips once. _Idiot, he’s thinking about how it’ll be on Bethany,_ he berates himself, but still, he can’t help but pretend. That’s what this whole thing is, right? He's just pretending to be a girl—to be one of _Drake’s_ girls. It’s not like it would happen in real life.

He closes his eyes and, with a bit of a sad smile as if he were putting on clown makeup instead, finishes covering the bottom lip. He pops them and rubs them together a few times, feeling the gloss set. As he caps it and puts it back in the bag, he doesn't detect the pair of lips against his own right away. Then, his eyes snap open, and his stomach jumps.

"Woah, what are you doing?" he asks as Drake pulls away.

"Taste-testing. Duh." He tries to dive in again, but Josh grabs his shoulders, holding him back.

"If you wanted to kiss me, Drake, you could have just asked," he teases.

Drake looks down. It's his turn to get all flustered.

"I-I know..."

Josh giggles. "Sure you do. Hey," He places a hand beneath his chin, getting him to look up. "I have an idea. Why don't I try on more flavors?"

"Yes, why don't you do that?" he agrees right away. With that, the interesting experiment begins. Josh doesn't really know what is going on, or what Drake's feelings on the matter are, but he'll take any excuse to let their lips touch again. After all, what's a little trying on makeup and, er, _taste-testing_ between stepbrothers?

"How's this one?" Josh says. Drake leans in and gives him a peck.

"Hey, coconut," he laughs. "Man, remember when we brought the dune buggy to Hawaii that one time, and we crashed into a coconut tree?"

"Yeah, because Megan removed the brakes?"

"My back was so sore!"

"I got knocked out by a coconut!"

They crack up and settle against the couch cushion, wiping away amused tears. "Whew, good times." From where he sits, Josh can see Drake's bangs moving over his closed eyes from the window breeze. He reaches out to gingerly move them out of the way.

"You're feeling my hair, aren't you?" Drake's smug voice says.

"Maybe. What's it to ya?" Josh replies in a very 'You wanna tussle?' way.

"It's cool. I don't mind," he shrugs. "I already know I'm gorgeous, it's not like I need the affirmation."

"Such a big word and a big mouth to go with it," Josh snorts. Then, changing the subject, "So, what did you think about coconut?"

"Hmm. It's nice on _you,_ I just—it's hard to picture it with her, you know?" Josh's stomach flips at the emphasis of 'you' as he keeps brushing his hand through Drake's hair. "I think we'd better keep trying."

"Wow, Drake Parker overanalyzing something...never thought I'd see the day."

"Shut up. This is important. Bethany's the most popular girl I've dated yet—probably the best catch I'll get all year."

"That she is," Josh agrees. He tries the pink lemonade next, then the caramel, then the cotton candy. Each of them gets the same reaction from Drake: good on Josh, meh on Bethany. Josh is beginning to think Drake might never pick a flavor, and he almost doesn't want him to. This whole thing, for all he doesn't understand it, has quickly become his new favorite Friday activity. Even over homework. "Well, I don't know about you, but apricot's my favorite," he speaks up at one point.

"Oh, no. You're not trying that one. It's the same stuff the _creature_ wears."

"The 'creature' you speak of wears it because she knows I like it."

"Blegh, they're like orange raisins. Too dry and icky."

"You disappoint me," Josh mock-scowls at his stepbrother's exaggerated grimace as he reaches into the bag for the next flavor. And he swears—as soon as he wipes off the other lip gloss and puts on this one, Drake perks up immediately.

"Well, _that_ smells nice."

"Cherry peach," Josh explains, eyeing its slight orange color in the handheld mirror with approval. Drake gives it a thought, shrugs, and leans in. Like all other times, it's a second-long peck before he pulls away. This time, though, his eyes are wide, and his freckled face looks short of breath. He moves closer and goes in for another taste test, then keeps coming back, which makes Josh chuckle. "You like that one?"

“Oh my God,” he breathes, “this is...”

Then, he’s kissing him. For real, this time, and Josh doesn’t know what to do. With Mindy, he normally grabs onto something, like her wrist, and roughly draws her to him. He can never decide which side of her face to angle toward, so he jams his nose into either side and moves his head around. Sure, he gets slobbered up from his nose to his chin area, but he thought all kissing was like that. It’s the only impression he’s had, anyway.

Drake pulls back just enough so that their upper lips are still touching. “Relax,” he whispers. And Josh can see why girls like kissing him so much. At first glance, his lips seem thin and plain. But then, he gets closer, and he can smell the Mocha-Cola in his breath, feel the hand rubbing the back of his neck and the natural softness on his lips from the sunscreen and plentiful water-drinking one would need to live in California. Not thinking too much, just going with the flow—a bit like the ocean. Josh has heard of seeing fireworks when kissing somebody, but he never thought palm trees would figure into the equation. A few more seconds pass when the thought hits Josh. It’s the lips that are moving—the rest of him is still.

With this newfound knowledge, he sheds his passiveness and tries to kiss Drake back in the same way. Slowing himself down to place his hands on his cheeks, opening his mouth so he can allow him that smell of cherry peach lip gloss. Drake makes a small noise of approval in his throat and brings another hand to Josh’s hair. By the time they pull apart, their lips are cool and damp but not covered in spit. “There, see? You’re learning.”

“Only from the best,” Josh grins. As Drake's hand keeps massaging the back of his head, a thought crosses his mind. "Hey, Drake—why'd you _really_ want me to try these lip samples on?"

"Because," the glint appears back in his eye, "you're purdy." 

"Flatterer. I'm serious," Josh says, though his cheeks are reddening, and the familiar nervousness is settling in his stomach anyway. The way Drake leans forward and brushes his lips near his ear is not helping matters.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure," Josh barely manages.

"I've been kissing all these girls mostly because I was practicing for when I'd finally get the chance to kiss you."

 "Y-You wanted to—?" Drake cuts him off with another one. Josh normally hates getting interrupted, but there's something about this way he doesn't seem to mind. Drake pulls back, eyes closed and touching their foreheads together.

"Don't talk, Josh. Alright?" His thumbs rub circles on both sides of his face. "Let's test out some more lip gloss."

"Drake Parker, are you actually afraid I don't feel—"

"Shhhhh. I just want this to last, okay?" There's a cracking in his voice Josh has never heard before. Not from Drake, the cool, confident guy who doesn't care about anything—or so he thought. Now? He's not so sure anymore.

They wordlessly go for the grape and tangerine next. Drake gets more thorough with the tasting, though none of them make him react the way he did with the cherry peach. Josh misses that slow yet alive feeling from earlier. Now, the sky is dark, and it’s like a dead weight hanging over them both, restricting their conversation so much one would think they were on Dad’s channel talking about the weather.  

"Which one do you think you'll go with?" Josh says as they cuddle on the couch. He runs his hand through his hair again, trying to bring back that peace they shared.

"This one's my favorite." Drake's arm lies across Josh's chest as he points at the cherry peach.

"You do like the pitted fruit."

"I guess," he laughs. "This one'll be good on her, though." He points at the vanilla, and Josh nods.

"Oh, Bethany will like that."

"Yeah." Drake sits up and looks at his watch. "Well, I gotta go. Catch you later, man." He gives him a firm slap on the side of his arm as if they haven’t just been making out for the past hour and picks up the vanilla lip gloss off the coffee table. There’s something not right about his movement toward the door, though. If Josh doesn’t know any better, he might even say it’s looking a bit dejected.

"Hey, Drake," he calls out to him. He stops in his tracks. "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh...sure, shoot." 

"It's about the Miss Nancy advice column. I recently got a letter from an anonymous source, and I remembered you give really good advice." Josh fiddles with his hands. "Anyway, there's this person that they've liked for a very long time, since maybe seventh grade, and also thought a lot about kissing. And now that they've finally kissed that person, well, they wanna keep doing it some more."

"So?"

"So, don't you keep a mint chapstick in your jeans pocket?"

A grin crosses his face as he quickly walks over.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I ship them so much, fml
> 
> Also, Josh totally wears mascara, don't even lie to me. XD


End file.
